Facebook readying to launch financial services, FT says

Facebook Inc. is set to obtain regulatory approval in Ireland for a service that would allow its users to store money on the social platform and use it to pay and exchange money with others, Financial Times reported Sunday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The approval from Ireland’s central bank to become an “e-money” institution will allow Facebook to issue units of stored monetary value that represent a claim against the company, the report said. This e-money would be valid throughout Europe via a process known as “passporting”, it said.

Facebook has also discussed potential partnerships with at least three London start-ups — TransferWise, Moni Technologies and Azimo – that offer international money transfer services online and via smartphones, sources were quoted as saying.

In the case of Azimo, Facebook is said to have offered to pay the company US$10 million to recruit one of its co-founders as a director of business development.

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